The 'Tormented' Loki

Going back to before Ais arrived at Kisuke's shop, Bete first reached the Twilight Manor and asked some people to gather the remaining members. Once those left behind announced his arrival, Loki ran and jumped at him with a crying face, "Bete!!! Hey Bete! I missed you!!! You're finally back!!! Where are the others!?"

Bete immediately grabbed her face so that she couldn't get any closer, "What's wrong with you!?"

"I've been tormented!!!" Loki shouted.

"T-tormented!?" Bete was startled and looked at the others and saw them making a wry smile. He figured that it wasn't that serious since they had that kind of reaction, nevertheless, he still asked, "What happened?"

"Listen to this! Until six days ago, someone was posting very disturbing images on the walls and ceiling of my room! Even though I always got rid of them, they would always come back! And just before it stopped appearing, it was even posted in the baths! Do you know how terrifying it is to wake up and see the picture of a bulky man in a cute outfit as the first thing in the morning!? It's even invaded my dreams now!" Loki kept complaining repeatedly to Bete.

Bete ignored her for a bit and asked one of the Loki Familia members, "What picture of a bulky man in a cute outfit?"

"Ah, it's this!" One of the girls took out a rolled paper and gave it to Bete.

"Ahhh!!! Why do you still have that!?" Loki shouted and tried to snatch it from Bete, but Bete immediately dodged and unrolled the paper which revealed a very disturbing image. Even though Bete couldn't understand the outfit of the man, he could understand why Loki would take psychological damage from it.

"Even though Loki-sama asked us to immediately burn it, we saved a few of them, so that we could use them whenever she tries to bother us with our work." The female member explained with a smile.

"You're mean!!!" Loki complained.

"Who's doing this?" Bete finally asked what was actually bothering him.

"...I don't know..." Loki answered with a soft voice.

"What? What do you mean?"

"I said I don't know! Although I have a clue on who's doing this, I don't have any proof to confront him!"

"You have an idea who's doing this, Loki-sama?" The female member asked in surprise.

"What are you surprised about? Loki's only redeeming quality is her head. She should have already figured something like this." Bete asked.

"That's rude!"

"No, that's not what I mean, Bete-san. We already figured out that the culprit isn't from our Familia. That means we're being infiltrated on a daily basis until six days ago and we couldn't even catch the scent or shadow of anyone suspicious. If she has any idea who it is, I'm surprised that Loki-sama hasn't made any move to apprehend or gather some proof."

Bete's expression became serious. It's no joke that their home is being infiltrated, after all, "The culprit is from outside? Is anyone hurt?"

"No. None as of now. It seems that all he did is to post these paintings all over the manor to annoy Loki-sama."

"Well, for the most part, if my guess is correct regarding the culprit's identity, then we don't have to be worried about being hurt." Loki's crying face then became serious, "As long as we don't make them our enemies, that is."

Bete looked straight to Loki's eyes and understood that the current threat of this unknown infiltrator is minimal according to her and could only sigh, "Haahh... Whatever. We'll investigate it later."

"By the way, why are you the only one here?" Loki then changed the topic, "Where are the rest?"

Bete sat down and told her the main events of their expedition, including the fact that they were now resting on the 18th floor to take care of the wounded and poisoned members of the Familia, "I'm going to the Dian Cecht Familia. Just buying out their stock won't be enough, so have Lox and the others check the other item sellers."

"Okay, got it! This might take two to three days though." Loki also sat down and took a sip on the wine prepared, "Leaving that aside, are you sure you don't want to rest? Aren't you tired? Want me to massage your shoulders?"

"I don't need it." Bete then passed a letter to Loki.

"What's this?"

"It's from Finn," Bete answered.

Loki then opened the letter and read through a detailed report of what really happened, "Those three!?"

Without looking at her, Bete replied, "I know it's unbelievable, but we saw everything with our own eyes."

Hearing this, Loki's mind started connecting some dots, 'If they are capable of something like this while still being a Level 2, then does that mean there's a chance that the Crimson Apocalypse Thieving Group is Kisuke Urahara himself along with the other girls!? But... They managed to instantly defeat Freya's kids, so the chance that it's someone else whom they know is still larger... Either way, I have to probe more. Freya probably has some clues but still no concrete proof, so I have to watch out for her movements too.'

"Thought of something?" Bete asked, rousing Loki from her contemplation.

"Yeah, but that isn't important right now. What happened to those three?"

"They're still unconscious and don't look good. Ais is currently fetching Kisuke Urahara after Line suggested to not treat them immediately and to ask their captain to come. As of now, they are probably on the way to the 18th floor."

"...Is that so?" Loki felt a bit conflicted that Ais didn't even pass by to say hi, but she also knew that it was urgent for the treatment of those who saved her children, 'But I don't really like where this is going... What should I do?'

Sighing, Loki stood up and slapped Bete's back, "Go get going! I'll take care of things here. Thanks to Finn's report, I have already a slight clue on what's going on. Good job."

"Great." Bete then stood up and went straight to the door.

As she watched him leaving, Loki's mind was preoccupied, 'So many things at once, but things are getting exciting again~.' A smile slowly crept onto her face.

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Kisuke spent a few hours concocting personalized medicines that could help them in their current state. He could have used a better treatment method for faster recovery, but he figured that it would be better for them to naturally recover so that their bodies could adapt easier to the skills they used.

After that, the color of their skin started to return to normal and their breathing normalized, although it would still take a few days for them to wake up according to Kisuke's estimation.

After Kisuke put everything away, Yoruichi also took the barrier down and both of them went out. Once they got outside, it was already evening and everyone from the Loki Familia, Hephaestus Familia and Bell's party who had already woken up were having dinner.

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Editors corner

Alexander: So the result from harassing Loki is finally out. However, quick thinking from the other members. There can never be enough insurance against her.

28th00: The revenge against Loki was incredibly petty, but it was for something equally as petty, fair is fair. It's still nice to see Bete not be turned into some raging ultra-confrontational ass that seems to populate the vast majority of Danmachi (and any xovers associated with it) fanfics. I mean, from Bell's POV in canon? Absolutely. From his POV? Probably some form of PTSD to do with running away that Bell absolutely embodies at that point. Werewolves are much stronger OUTSIDE the dungeon, because there's no moonlight inside it, hence there being almost no Werewolf dungeon divers. Dude's gotta have a reason.

Goyya: Whenever Loki thinks about a Magical Girl, Mil-tan will come knocking in her mind~.